Tag: MMA Journalism

Shill ‘Em All, Part 5: Good Night and Good Luck


(Sixty years ago, we had Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly. Now, we’ve got these guys.)

By Brian J. D’Souza

The class action lawsuit filed against the UFC by Cung Le, Nate Quarry and Jon Fitch has dramatically polarized the MMA sphere. Instead of debating the merits of the case, many are debating whether the lawsuit has a right to exist.

Chael Sonnen has characterized the lawsuit as a “shakedown”; others say that the plaintiffs are just bitter ex-fighters who have an axe to grind. It’s bizarre that so many are acting as if these events suddenly crept up quietly to ambush the UFC—and it’s also a symptom of the poor job done by the MMA media in reporting business concepts in a way fans can understand them.

A “USEFUL IDIOT”

Last month, Chael Sonnen sounded off on Ariel Helwani on his podcast, saying “You’re not a journalist, you’re a parrot.” The message wasn’t coming from a warm, fuzzy place inside Sonnen’s heart—the Oregonian wrestler was irate at Helwani’s handling of the steroid scandal Sonnen had been embroiled in, which lead to Sonnen’s exit from MMA competition.

FrontRowBrian—a Twitter personality who has the ability to scoop news stories and rumors that the mainstream media either doesn’t know about or is too scared to touch—added his own insight into the Helwani-UFC relationship, which hit a snag when Helwani was reported to be on the outs at UFC partner FoxSports in January 2014.

With his typically cheerful ginger candor, FrontRowBrian tweeted (then later, deleted) that Helwani was a “useful idiot,” and said that the UFC had temporarily fired him because they “just wanted to show him who is the boss and how they can end a career.”

Ariel Helwani is an extreme case of someone with overt dependence on the UFC. Like many media members, he knows what the key issues are between MMA promoters and the fighters, but he makes a conscious effort to restrain himself from fully developing very specific ideas in his reporting.

For example, when Nate Diaz’s complaints about pay made headlines in April, Helwani wrote a very detailed article for MMAFighting.com outlining Diaz’s points, as well as a succinct reply from Dana White. Carefully omitted from the article is any analysis of the revenue Nate Diaz generates for the UFC versus what he’s paid.


(Sixty years ago, we had Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly. Now, we’ve got these guys.)

By Brian J. D’Souza

The class action lawsuit filed against the UFC by Cung Le, Nate Quarry and Jon Fitch has dramatically polarized the MMA sphere. Instead of debating the merits of the case, many are debating whether the lawsuit has a right to exist.

Chael Sonnen has characterized the lawsuit as a “shakedown”; others say that the plaintiffs are just bitter ex-fighters who have an axe to grind. It’s bizarre that so many are acting as if these events suddenly crept up quietly to ambush the UFC—and it’s also a symptom of the poor job done by the MMA media in reporting business concepts in a way fans can understand them.

A “USEFUL IDIOT”

Last month, Chael Sonnen sounded off on Ariel Helwani on his podcast, saying “You’re not a journalist, you’re a parrot.” The message wasn’t coming from a warm, fuzzy place inside Sonnen’s heart—the Oregonian wrestler was irate at Helwani’s handling of the steroid scandal Sonnen had been embroiled in, which lead to Sonnen’s exit from MMA competition.

FrontRowBrian—a Twitter personality who has the ability to scoop news stories and rumors that the mainstream media either doesn’t know about or is too scared to touch—added his own insight into the Helwani-UFC relationship, which hit a snag when Helwani was reported to be on the outs at UFC partner FoxSports in January 2014.

With his typically cheerful ginger candor, FrontRowBrian tweeted (then later, deleted) that Helwani was a “useful idiot,” and said that the UFC had temporarily fired him because they “just wanted to show him who is the boss and how they can end a career.”

Ariel Helwani is an extreme case of someone with overt dependence on the UFC. Like many media members, he knows what the key issues are between MMA promoters and the fighters, but he makes a conscious effort to restrain himself from fully developing very specific ideas in his reporting.

For example, when Nate Diaz’s complaints about pay made headlines in April, Helwani wrote a very detailed article for MMAFighting.com outlining Diaz’s points, as well as a succinct reply from Dana White. Carefully omitted from the article is any analysis of the revenue Nate Diaz generates for the UFC versus what he’s paid.

Then again, as Yahoo! reporter Kevin Iole carefully explained in a February column on the subject of whether fighter pay is fair, “No one can say with certainty because we don’t really know what [fighters] earn or how much the UFC makes.”

It’s a terrific alibi for adhering to the status quo that MMA journalists can cling to the way Ariel Helwani can cling to his four consecutive “MMA Journalist of the Year” awards (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) as evidence that he’s a journalist.

JOURNALISTS IN GLASS HOUSES

The “Shill of the Year” award clearly goes to Kenny Rice, host of AXS TV show Inside MMA, for abruptly cutting short an interview with undefeated welterweight Ben Askren back in September.

“The UFC has had quite the monopoly the last handful of years, but really, if they don’t change their tune, they’re gonna start losing some fans,” opined Askren in response to a statement (question?) by Kenny Rice about the UFC housing the world’s best fighters.

Rice quickly halted the interview midstream, but his methods caused more damage than if he’d simply allowed Askren to finish. Fans everywhere were outraged over the incident and sounded off all over Twitter, discussion forums and comments sections.

“Honestly, I think a lot of people were kind of happy that someone was finally speaking the truth,” Askren later told MMAJunkie Radio, “all of a sudden I get cut off and I get censored – they’re really mad about that.”

When AXS TV producer Andrew Simon offered an apology, Askren requested that he be able to return to the show to debate the topic of MMA economics with Kenny Rice. No debate ever materialized, but as a consolation, Rice’s Inside MMA co-host Bas Rutten posted a 1,200-word Facebook rant full of disjointed, tangential thoughts that absolved Rice from responsibility (at least from his viewpoint).

In completely unrelated news, Robert Joyner of MMAPayout.com reported that AXS TV chairman, CEO and president Mark Cuban became a UFC bondholder in 2009.

DOLLAR$ AND $EN$E

In 2005, George Clooney directed Good Night, and Good Luck., a film about CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow challenging anti-communist fear monger Senator Joseph McCarthy through accurate—and courageous—reporting.

Murrow makes a speech in the movie that cuts right to the heart of today’s media culture of self-interested info-tainment: “Unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.”

When Murrow and producer Fred Friendly attempt to cover a news story that evidences the arbitrary nature of the communist witch-hunt, key sponsors back out. Upper-management at CBS allows the controversial story to run, but in the end, the powers that be have their own ironclad rhetoric for paring down Murrow’s influence.

“Sixty Four Thousand Dollar Question brings in over $80,000 in sponsors and it costs a third of what you do,” chief executive of CBS William Paley tells Murrow and Friendly.

So what incentive is there for an MMA website to fund an investigative reporter like John S. Nash to write a detailed analysis of MMA contracts when they can get more bang for their buck commissioning a series of stories about the usual “he said/she said” clickbait floating around the blogosphere?

Not to mention the clear links between MMA promotions’ advertising dollars and certain news outlets, like the UFC’s relationship with USA Today/MMAJunkie, as reported on in Shill ‘Em All, Part 4. I was directed to senior vice president of USA Today Leagues and Properties Merrill Squires to answer questions about the “USA Today UFC Group.” Although I contacted him for comment 11 months ago, I am sure that it will only be a matter of time before he gets back to me.

Meanwhile, MMAJunkie.com has provided excellent analysis of the UFC lawsuit including a story about perennial opportunist Tito Ortiz declining to participate in the suit, as well as a must-read piece on Travis Browne’s manager John Fosco calling the plaintiffs “a bunch of wimps.”

Are these stories relevant to the nature of the lawsuit, or are they just disinformation being pumped out to influence public opinion? Perhaps Browne’s side-gig as a marketing rep for several UFC-approved sponsors deftly answers that question.

SHADOWS OF OURSELVES

The reality of the UFC lawsuit is that it is being led by a group of fighters who are removed from their primes. They didn’t have the mechanisms, information, organization or leadership to stand up for themselves at the apex of their careers when it would have had the most impact. There’s also the reality of getting sucked into the game of corporate politics—sacrificing dignity and rights today for the promise of a paycheck and advancement tomorrow.

MMA journalists are in a similar juxtaposition with respect to their careers—there are incentives to toe the party line. But every time a reporter bends to the promoter’s whims, they endear less respect and credibility. Eventually, no matter how compliant or obedient a reporter is, they can find themselves unemployed and forgotten.

In the last year, many prominent names in the industry—among them Mike Chiapetta, Joe Ferraro, Mike Straka and Jim Casey—have moved on from full-time jobs covering the sport. Many part-time writers are also seeing their budgets slashed, and thus being further marginalized or rendered irrelevant.

One well-known former MMA media member penned (and recently deleted) a poem with this sad verse:

I didn’t know I would end up here,
No family, no money, no career.
Two girls who look up to me,
And a shadow of who I used to be.

All I can say to the survivors still committed to working in the media is that you need to carefully consider your objectives and the impact of your work. How do you want to be remembered? Will you be remembered?

The clock is ticking. What you produce will be your only answer.

***

Brian J. D’Souza is the author of the critically acclaimed book Pound for Pound: The Modern Gladiators of Mixed Martial Arts. You can check out an excerpt right here.

Shill ‘Em All, Part 4: Hustlers, Marks, And the Long Con of Selling Media Coverage


(Look closely, and you can actually see suckers being born every minute. / Photo via Getty / For previous installments of Shill Em’ All, click here.)

By Brian J. D’Souza

Everyone has a vague idea of how three-card Monte works: a street hustler places three cards face-down. A mark is enticed into finding the money card. Using misdirection, subterfuge and distraction, the hustler dupes the mark into picking the wrong card over and over. Sometimes a “shill” aids the hustler by playing the game and making it appear winnable.

The fight game is a similar hustle where many MMA journalists often play the role of the shill. Rather than being independent, certain MMA outlets and journalists are working in concert with the promoter to achieve a specific aim. Often, the promoter is buying publicity for their product, which is fair game considering that running an MMA promotion is a brutal marketplace where only the fittest survive.

Speaking in direct reference to a then-SiriusXM radio personality Scott Ferrall being paid a talent fee to attend UFC shows, UFC president Dana White said, “Believe me, in building this business, we had to do some things.”

It’s critical for an event promoter to spend money on the front end — including giving incentives to journalists — so that they can make money on the back end. Sports leagues require massive amounts of capital, as well as leaders capable of executing a clear vision; save for the spectacular Japanese league PRIDE FC that was backed by the yakuza and their dirty money, no one has done a better job of running an MMA promotion than casino magnates Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, the majority owners of the UFC.

If the mark happens to be the casual fan being steered into buying an MMA card, so be it. Colonel Tom Parker might have paid girls to scream at Elvis’s early shows, but his product held up to scrutiny over time. No one is holding a gun to anyone’s head and forcing them to buy watered down PPV’s or watch lackluster cards.

On the other end, when the mark happens to be the fighters, it’s a much more serious issue. Successful promotions earn tremendous amounts of revenue from pay-per-view buys, television licensing, live gate, merchandise, and other streams. MMA fighters who don’t know or understand their value will continue to be taken for a ride.


(Look closely, and you can actually see suckers being born every minute. / Photo via Getty / For previous installments of Shill Em’ All, click here.)

By Brian J. D’Souza

Everyone has a vague idea of how three-card Monte works: a street hustler places three cards face-down. A mark is enticed into finding the money card. Using misdirection, subterfuge and distraction, the hustler dupes the mark into picking the wrong card over and over. Sometimes a “shill” aids the hustler by playing the game and making it appear winnable.

The fight game is a similar hustle where many MMA journalists often play the role of the shill. Rather than being independent, certain MMA outlets and journalists are working in concert with the promoter to achieve a specific aim. Often, the promoter is buying publicity for their product, which is fair game considering that running an MMA promotion is a brutal marketplace where only the fittest survive.

Speaking in direct reference to a then-SiriusXM radio personality Scott Ferrall being paid a talent fee to attend UFC shows, UFC president Dana White said, “Believe me, in building this business, we had to do some things.”

It’s critical for an event promoter to spend money on the front end — including giving incentives to journalists — so that they can make money on the back end. Sports leagues require massive amounts of capital, as well as leaders capable of executing a clear vision; save for the spectacular Japanese league PRIDE FC that was backed by the yakuza and their dirty money, no one has done a better job of running an MMA promotion than casino magnates Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, the majority owners of the UFC.

If the mark happens to be the casual fan being steered into buying an MMA card, so be it. Colonel Tom Parker might have paid girls to scream at Elvis’s early shows, but his product held up to scrutiny over time. No one is holding a gun to anyone’s head and forcing them to buy watered down PPV’s or watch lackluster cards.

On the other end, when the mark happens to be the fighters, it’s a much more serious issue. Successful promotions earn tremendous amounts of revenue from pay-per-view buys, television licensing, live gate, merchandise, and other streams. MMA fighters who don’t know or understand their value will continue to be taken for a ride.

The number one negotiable expense promoters have is the fighter payroll. For instance, when Floyd Mayweather Jr. faced Victor Ortiz in 2011, his paycheck was estimated at around $40 million dollars; as the promoter, he graciously paid Ortiz, the B-side of the main event, $2 million. In the shell game of MMA journalism, media shills have a critical role in ignoring the most basic question — not merely what fighter pay is, but rather, what is fighter pay in relation to a promotion’s net revenue?


(All sports journalism, pretty much.)

It’s easy for a journalist to write an article that relays the sanitized version of news sanctioned by the promotion. All it involves is cutting and pasting the disclosed payouts from athletic commissions, parroting the party line about how stringently fighters are drug tested in MMA, and participating in the circular argument about how to make the useless UFC rankings work better. As professor of cultural research at the University of Western Sydney David Rowe noted, sports journalists in general are more like a fan club that panders to popular opinion without digging too deep into investigative reporting.

MMA promoters aren’t exclusive in their attempts to control the media, either. The NFL’s Washington Redskins recently attracted negative attention for giving media outlets partnered with the team preferential access. According to an insightful piece in the Washington Post, the Redskins collect seven-figure annual fees from media partners NBC4 and CSN. As could be expected, the Redskins media partners gave the boilerplate statement that they would never compromise their reporting.

The unsubstantiated rumor that incited our entire Shill ‘Em All series was a post on Reddit that claimed the UFC was directly paying expenses for MMAJunkie.com in exchange for favorable coverage of the UFC in USA Today. While I never found a smoking gun tying the UFC to USA Today/MMAJunkie like Tim Marchman of Deadspin.com did to tie VICE’s Fightland section to the UFC, I did talk to many high-level MMA reporters and editors who tipped me off to simpler, more obvious connections between the UFC and favorable relationships with certain media outlets — ads.

All a fight promotion would need to do is have one of its major sponsors place ads in a publication in exchange for favorable coverage of the promotion. Consider why a major brand and UFC sponsor like Harley Davidson would advertise with MMAJunkie — or even more blatantly obvious, the UFC-sponsored content on MMAJunkie.

Probing these issues and trying to learn more about the “USA Today UFC Group” that does the ads for UFC.com has been a challenging experience. MMAJunkie editor-in-chief Dann Stupp would not respond for comment. MMAJunkie reporter John Morgan referred me to Mary Byrne, the managing editor of USA Today’s sports section. Byrne gave the boilerplate denial that the UFC had any editorial pull with USA Today/MMAJunkie and referred me to senior vice president of USA Today Leagues and Properties Merrill Squires to answer questions about the “USA Today UFC Group.” Squires has been unresponsive to queries so far.


(UFC.com, “Part of the USA Today UFC Group.”)

MMA journalism isn’t getting any easier to do. At the end of 2013, ESPN.com released reporters Josh Gross and Franklin McNeil. The bright spot counterbalancing this decline in MMA coverage is that FoxSports.com brought Mike Chiappetta, Marc Raimondi and Damon Martin aboard. The UFC deal with FOX gives the television network clear incentive to promote MMA through all of its properties, but it seems unlikely that we’ll ever see news coverage like ESPN’s Outside the Lines segment on UFC fighter pay from FOX or FoxSports.com.

Suppressing the truth still is a taxing game of whack-a-mole that the promoter can’t completely win, and the MMA media will get scooped time and time again by more impartial outlets. Recent statements from Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva illuminate a different truth from what the promoter is selling. St-Pierre’s controversial comments about insufficient drug-testing and the UFC being a monopoly came through a Quebec publication and were translated from his native French; Anderson’s comments about how he asks his wife to drive him around Los Angeles so he could cry without being seen by his kids were given in Portuguese to Globo.

Many fans, pundits, and industry insiders truly believe that they have the supreme ability to separate fact from fiction and that they are impervious to the machinations of the promoter’s influence. Yet without Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva’s open and honest interviews, we would still have a Pollyanna-view of their respective situations. In a similar vein, without the unveiling of the WWE’s digital network, some MMA fans would not be able to see the flaws and shortcomings of the UFC’s Fight Pass.

As for the promoter, they don’t actually need to convince all of the people all of the time. They simply have to keep the game running, utilize misdirection through their shills, and continue raking in the mark’s money.

********

Brian J. D’Souza is the author of the recently published book Pound for Pound: The Modern Gladiators of Mixed Martial Arts. You can check out an excerpt right here.

It’s Not Me, It’s You: A Breakup Letter To MMA


(“You had to give it to him: he had a plan. And it started to make sense, in a Tyler sort of way. No fear. No distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide.” – Narrator)

By: Jason Moles

Dear Mixed Martial Arts,

They say breaking up is hard to do…but they’re wrong. Please, don’t speak. Let me talk for once.

For the better part of eight years, I’ve lived and breathed you. At first, it was just a little crush, but a couple years later it matured into something more. I was truly, madly, deeply in love with you. Three years ago, I finally worked up the nerve to ask you out, and to my surprise, you said yes. In the beginning, you were all I could think about. You dominated my conversations with coworkers in the break room and were the reason for countless missed BBQs with my family. But not anymore. It’s the end of the road, ergo, time for me to fly.

Let me be real clear. It must’ve been love, but it’s over now.

It’s funny; life never goes the way we plan, never turns out how we expect. Never did I anticipate us falling apart like this. It’s almost as if the cosmos are playing games with our heart, letting us think but for a brief moment that we’re on the brink of reaching true happiness before we trip over the monkey wrench thrown our way. Speaking of heart, CagePotato Ban notwithstanding, (and rightfully so, I might add) one needs a lot of it if they’re to enjoy successful relationships in this life. One only need look as far as Jenna Jameson and Tito Ortiz (or Rampage and his diet) to realize the consequences of pursuing a relationship with anything less.

Every rose has its thorn (some more than others) and I’m tired of holding on.

This whole year has been an agonizing internal struggle for me. You’re driving me crazy and I hate it! I hate that I used to care so passionately about you, that I would pass up trips to the lake with family or a night out with friends because I wanted to spend time with you. And now? You’re irritating me to no end. You’re so dang needy. You didn’t know it, but I’ve been going behind your back trying to find friends to help move or neighbors who needed help painting so I’d conveniently not be available on Saturday nights. I need space; I can’t do this anymore.


(“You had to give it to him: he had a plan. And it started to make sense, in a Tyler sort of way. No fear. No distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide.” – Narrator)

By: Jason Moles

Dear Mixed Martial Arts,

They say breaking up is hard to do…but they’re wrong. Please, don’t speak. Let me talk for once.

For the better part of eight years, I’ve lived and breathed you. At first, it was just a little crush, but a couple years later it matured into something more. I was truly, madly, deeply in love with you. Three years ago, I finally worked up the nerve to ask you out, and to my surprise, you said yes. In the beginning, you were all I could think about. You dominated my conversations with coworkers in the break room and were the reason for countless missed BBQs with my family. But not anymore. It’s the end of the road, ergo, time for me to fly.

Let me be real clear. It must’ve been love, but it’s over now.

It’s funny; life never goes the way we plan, never turns out how we expect. Never did I anticipate us falling apart like this. It’s almost as if the cosmos are playing games with our heart, letting us think but for a brief moment that we’re on the brink of reaching true happiness before we trip over the monkey wrench thrown our way. Speaking of heart, CagePotato Ban notwithstanding, (and rightfully so, I might add) one needs a lot of it if they’re to enjoy successful relationships in this life. One only need look as far as Jenna Jameson and Tito Ortiz (or Rampage and his diet) to realize the consequences of pursuing a relationship with anything less.

Every rose has its thorn (some more than others) and I’m tired of holding on.

This whole year has been an agonizing internal struggle for me. You’re driving me crazy and I hate it! I hate that I used to care so passionately about you, that I would pass up trips to the lake with family or a night out with friends because I wanted to spend time with you. And now? You’re irritating me to no end. You’re so dang needy. You didn’t know it, but I’ve been going behind your back trying to find friends to help move or neighbors who needed help painting so I’d conveniently not be available on Saturday nights. I need space; I can’t do this anymore.

You’re killing me softly, but it still hurts. And it’s not just me — our dawg Riddle doesn’t want anything to do with you, either.

Before I leave, though, I feel I owe you some answers. I lament that we used to be so close and now it seems like I barely know you. We’ve grown so far apart. You’ve changed, MMA. You’ve changed. I remember when you were happy only going out once or twice a month. Now you want me to give you all but two of my weekends this year (those dates aren’t cheap, ya know!) — not to mention our weeknight dinner dates on FS1 and Spike. You’re exhausting my free time, patience, and bank account.

For many of the same reasons as Brian Stann, I know it’s time for me to walk away. In an interview with the legendary Thomas Gerbasi for UFC 360, “All-American” had this to say:

“I’ve continually gotten to that high level of the sport, top 10, and I just had trouble breaking through that next-level barrier where I can challenge for a title shot. And the amount of time you spend preparing for a fight, it consumes you and it holds you back from all the other things in life that you may be doing.

I’ve always had a full-time job while I fought, and I tried to keep things in perspective. That was a conscious choice by me saying, ‘Hey, I know I could be better if I go all in,’ but I had already had two children at the time, and it was a risk I wasn’t willing to take as far as going all in as a fighter.

… I could never be as good as I can be at any one venture that I’m doing because I was doing so many.”

Our relationship forces me to endure an alarming deal of stress. The stress I put on myself to keep up with every Facebook post, every tweet, and every time someone mentioned you on the radio is the equivalent of taking a bath in pure cortisol. You could argue that you never expected or even asked me to do any of that, but I felt that I had to. Our friends came to me for opinions and analysis on all the things going on in your life. What kind of friend would I be if I skipped the prelims at 11am when you were in Japan?

I’ve gone as far as I could in this relationship with you. It’s my belief that I was a really good boyfriend, but it was never good enough. Never enough for you to ever love me in the way I loved you. Unrequited love is one of life’s most painful feelings, second only to getting hit in the pills by Cup Cheick. Maybe that’s what lead to my willingness to stop overlooking your faults and how miserable you made me feel.

In my vain attempt to please you and give you the time and attention you so desperately want of me, I’ve been missing out on things I used to have time for like occasionally picking up the video game controller, reading great books and watching Hollywood’s latest attempt to convince me that I can be or do anything if only I keep trying — things I used to make a priority in my life because of the joy I got from them, but have since gone by the wayside. I want to have a life outside of you. I need to reclaim my identity. This tainted love must come to an end.

I’m not saying we can’t maybe one day still be friends (as long as you understand that we are never, ever, ever, ever, getting back together) In fact, once both of our wounds have healed, I think I might like that — if only so it’s not awkward for our mutual friends. Given the number of people I’ve befriended over the past few years, it’s naive to think we won’t eventually run into each other at a Hooter’s or Dave & Buster’s or some other place flowing with wings and beer. Let’s not dump pitchers of Mickey’s on anyone’s new arm candy, okay?

Jason Moles used to write for CagePotato.com. Keep track of his current interests @TheJasonMoles

Shill ‘Em All: Why Ethical MMA Journalism Is So Hard to Come By


(Dana White spends some quality time with his fans. / Photo via Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports)

By Brian J. D’Souza

There are many contentious subjects in mixed martial arts, from the use of performance enhancing drugs to the corruption and ineptitude of various athletic commissions. Before the issues come into focus, they are often filtered by the entity that draws an epic amount of criticism within the sport itself — the so-called “MMA media.”

Yet far from being a homogonous group of “bloggers,” “hacks,” or “shills,” the public would be surprised to learn that there are actually different individuals that comprise the MMA media. Some were drawn to MMA because they love the sport, others were assigned to cover the UFC by their editors, but whether they’re writing as a hobby or as part of the special entourage of writers who get the best seats at shows and special events, the MMA media operates under circumstances that directly impedes their ability to report accurate and truthful stories.

Corruption and controversy have always been at the heart of mixed martial arts since the sport’s modern inception in the 1990s. Then again, maybe Mark Coleman (Olympian, UFC heavyweight champion and PRIDE open weight GP champion) didn’t throw his fight against professional wrestler/PRIDE founder Nobuhiko Takada (career record: 3-6-2) at PRIDE 5? And all the fighters who’ve tested positive for performance enhancers were maliciously framed by athletic commissions, or were taking legal (but tainted) supplements, or had the drugs administered by their doctor without their knowledge?

The media matters because they can bring attention and scrutiny to the dark corners of the sport. Greasing by an athlete? Suspicious judges’ decision? Rival promoter extorted at gunpoint for the rights of their fighter? There have to be news stories that shed light on the truth, especially when you consider that accurate information isn’t always volunteered by the fight promotions or state athletic commissions.

The current mixed martial arts landscape is dominated by the UFC. The question over the hold the UFC has over the media needs to be examined so fans understand the constraints that the MMA media works under.


(Dana White spends some quality time with his fans. / Photo via Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports)

By Brian J. D’Souza

There are many contentious subjects in mixed martial arts, from the use of performance enhancing drugs to the corruption and ineptitude of various athletic commissions. Before the issues come into focus, they are often filtered by the entity that draws an epic amount of criticism within the sport itself — the so-called “MMA media.”

Yet far from being a homogonous group of “bloggers,” “hacks,” or “shills,” the public would be surprised to learn that there are actually different individuals that comprise the MMA media. Some were drawn to MMA because they love the sport, others were assigned to cover the UFC by their editors, but whether they’re writing as a hobby or as part of the special entourage of writers who get the best seats at shows and special events, the MMA media operates under circumstances that directly impedes their ability to report accurate and truthful stories.

Corruption and controversy have always been at the heart of mixed martial arts since the sport’s modern inception in the 1990s. Then again, maybe Mark Coleman (Olympian, UFC heavyweight champion and PRIDE open weight GP champion) didn’t throw his fight against professional wrestler/PRIDE founder Nobuhiko Takada (career record: 3-6-2) at PRIDE 5? And all the fighters who’ve tested positive for performance enhancers were maliciously framed by athletic commissions, or were taking legal (but tainted) supplements, or had the drugs administered by their doctor without their knowledge?

The media matters because they can bring attention and scrutiny to the dark corners of the sport. Greasing by an athlete? Suspicious judges’ decision? Rival promoter extorted at gunpoint for the rights of their fighter? There have to be news stories that shed light on the truth, especially when you consider that accurate information isn’t always volunteered by the fight promotions or state athletic commissions.

The current mixed martial arts landscape is dominated by the UFC. The question over the hold the UFC has over the media needs to be examined so fans understand the constraints that the MMA media works under.

The most obvious way to control the media comes through barring individual reporters or outlets from receiving fight credentials. When you take away access, outlets either have to get creative or look for a way to get their credentials back. That gives fight promotions leverage over the media.

Consider the last time MMA website Sherdog.com had its UFC credentials pulled in March 2010: It was believed that statements made by Sherdog staff in the Matt Lindland documentary Fighting Politics incited the wrath of the UFC. Now that Sherdog has its credentials back once more, do you think they’ll make similar statements — or write news with the same critical focus on the UFC?

A less-known, but much more effective way to control the media comes through offering financial enticements—indirectly. No one understands this better than UFC president Dana White, who explained how the game works in an exclusive interview with MMAJunkie.com in 2010:

“My biggest beef with a lot of these MMA websites is that these guys are for-profit websites. They’re not [expletive] news sites. They’re for-profit websites,” explained Dana White.

With the exception of the BBC in the United Kingdom, the CBC in Canada, and other state-funded media outlets, White ineloquently states the obvious: Media outlets are businesses that need to earn revenue to fund operations.

The article went on to state that “White doesn’t necessarily contend that media members are taking direct payments for placing a fighter in a top-10 list. Instead, he believes that the advertising that promoters often purchase on MMA websites can easily skew journalists’ opinions.”

The case of SiriusXM radio personality Scott Ferrall is worth reexamining. It was purported that Ferrall was paid to attend UFC shows, however a representative from Zuffa was quick to clarify the arrangement between Ferrall and the UFC was a “talent fee” that is commonly paid to radio personalities as part of a marketing agreement.

“Scott Ferrall was sent to do his show at a number of UFC events around the country due to a legal advertising agreement struck between Zuffa and Sirius XM Satellite Radio to promote the pay per view events, which is standard practice in the fight business,” a representative of Ferrall told CagePotato.com.

Other sources confirmed that in previous years, Zuffa did indeed offer media outlets compensation of expenses in order to cover their events. If the payments were included as part of an advertising or marketing agreement, then Zuffa didn’t directly pay journalists for coverage. Respected outlets like the New York Times would never let advertising taint editorial, but there’s no oversight to stop other media far down the evolutionary chain from making a backroom deal in exchange for money, exclusive scoops, or other partner benefits.

Yet another enticement a fight promotion can offer journalists — a profession bled dry by economic recession, corporate budget-slashing, emerging technology, and cheap user-generated content — is the promise of employment.

Most fans know about the ongoing discord between current ESPN.com writer Josh Gross and Dana White, dating back to the first ban of Sherdog.com from being credentialed in 2005. The fact that just two weeks after banning Sherdog.com (where Gross was employed at the time), Dana White flew Gross into Las Vegas and offered him a $28,000 raise to run the UFC’s website is a lesser known anecdote.

Gross turned the job offer down, but if other MMA journalists cultivate a friendly relationship with Zuffa, they always have the option of applying for a position at the UFC. Public relations positions are far more numerous, stable, and better-paying than most reporting jobs — facts that aren’t lost on reporters who already have the required skill-set to do PR.


(Josh Gross blasts the UFC’s manufactured mythology in ‘Fighting Politics’)

The final reason journalists have been historically biased when covering mixed martial arts has to do with the matter of self-preservation. PRIDE was threatened in 2003 when a rival promoter, Miro Mijatovic, signed Fedor Emelianenko and hosted his own competing show on New Years Eve. Retaliation was swift when Mijatovic was subsequently held hostage at gunpoint and had the rights to Fedor extorted out of him after three days of threats in January of 2004.

Throughout the following period, the Japanese media who covered mixed martial arts were complicit in not only ignoring the yakuza attacks on Mijatovic occurring under their noses, but in adding credibility to PRIDE president Nobuyuki Sakakibara’s denials of reality:

“They just continued to repeat Sakakibara’s bullshit as if it was the gospel,” said Mijatovic.

Former prosecutor turned anti-yakuza crusading lawyer, Toshiro Igari took notice of Mijatovic’s case, and after a prolonged case with investigators, successfully brought enough heat down to get PRIDE taken off of Fuji TV in 2006 with a “cease and desist” order from the Police to Fuji TV.

As for the Japanese MMA media, while it was certainly unethical that they had withheld the truth from the public over the yakuza’s dirty dealings (actions that had spanned years of criminal activity), it was also a survival instinct: In the wake of PRIDE’s demise in 2007, many of them lost their jobs.

Toshiro Igari, also author of several books on the subject of organized crime and a frequent commentator on national TV programs, was found dead in August 2010 in a Manila, Philippines hotel room. While his death was ruled a suicide by the Philippine authorities as both of his wrists were cut open and pills were found littering the room, it was much more likely that the yakuza enemies Igari had made over the years had caught up to him.

While Igari was a media-savvy lawyer and not a reporter, the type of work he did was relevant and close in nature to the often dangerous profession of journalism. Data collected from the Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ) shows that 70 journalists were killed during the course of their work in 2012 alone. That so many are willing to risk their lives by working in war zones, taking on organized crime groups or handling stories so dangerous that they are murdered for daring to tell them is demonstrative of the line that subdivides all types of journalists.

Going by a dictionary definition, a Taekwondo practitioner who spars for points with chest protection and headgear can define himself or herself as a “fighter.” In a similar vein, someone like MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, who works as a personality for various UFC television programs (and therefore lacks the freedom to publicly criticize the promotion’s actions), can proudly self-identify as a “journalist.”

Given all of these factors, is it likely that the MMA media will improve or decline in its ability to cover the sport over the next few years? As things stand, it isn’t just fans or discontent outsiders who notice the low quality of coverage.

“We got a bunch of media guys who really don’t know a ton about the sport,” lamented analyst Chael Sonnen on a recent episode of UFC Tonight.

It’s curious that Sonnen is denigrating the very situation that the major promotions and power brokers of mixed martial arts have specifically engineered. After all, they benefit the most from all the scandals, corruption, and other information that is being swept under the rug by media members who prefer to feign ignorance in order to keep their spot on the gravy train.

The next time that Dana White tweets “Pride is dead dummy! I killed em!!!” let’s hope that there is someone left with integrity to report what really happened — instead of using their current job to interview for their next one.

***

Brian J. D’Souza is the author of the recently published book Pound for Pound: The Modern Gladiators of Mixed Martial Arts. You can check out an excerpt right here.

In Case You Missed It: Homeless Bum Dana White Helps Rob Riggle Make Week 13 NFL Picks

Skip to the 1:45 mark for Dana’s appearance. Props to reader Alan K for the video.

While the rest of you were watching football today (the American version, aka the one worth watching *chugs beer, initiates U-S-A! chant*), you may have noticed a familiar face in this week’s edition of Riggle’s Picks. No, it wasn’t one of us. It was UFC President Dana White, satirizing “Exclusive Access” sports websites alongside Rob Riggle.

Riggle hits all the standard punchlines about these types: Improbable rumors, Rex Ryan is a fat mess, that these sites are only in it for the money, Richard Simmons, the webmasters live with their mothers, Jewish guilt- you know the drill by now. But Dana White steals the show with his masterful performance as a homeless drunk, who serves as an incarnation of “Guy who can’t possibly have inside information spreading outlandish rumors that only internet trolls are dumb enough to believe.”


Skip to the 1:45 mark for Dana’s appearance. Props to reader Alan K for the video.

While the rest of you were watching football today (the American version, aka the one worth watching *chugs beer, initiates U-S-A! chant*), you may have noticed a familiar face in this week’s edition of Riggle’s Picks. No, it wasn’t one of us. It was UFC President Dana White, satirizing “Exclusive Access” sports websites alongside Rob Riggle.

Riggle hits all the standard punchlines about these types: Improbable rumors, Rex Ryan is a fat mess, that these sites are only in it for the money, Richard Simmons, the webmasters live with their mothers, Jewish guilt- you know the drill by now. But Dana White steals the show with his masterful performance as a homeless drunk, who serves as an incarnation of “Guy who can’t possibly have inside information spreading outlandish rumors that only internet trolls are dumb enough to believe.”

Dana White is perfect for this role, and not just because it helps promote the upcoming UFC on Fox card. The Baldfather has certainly made his frustrations known about the way that many media outlets cover his sport, so one has to imagine he really enjoyed the opportunity to portray them as money-hungry attention whores who listen to homeless drunks for advice.

And the best part? There is absolutely no way that this can possibly be directed at us. So suck on that, world, and enjoy the video.

@SethFalvo